Shield for fere alarm box indicating



Jan. 31, 1956 T. M. COSGROVE SHIELD FOR FIRE ALARM BOX INDICATING LAMPS Filed Feb. 15, 1952 INVENTOR. THOMAS M. CO SG'GOVE,

ATMENEYS.

United States Patent Q 2,733,334 SHIELD FOR FIRE ALARM BOX INDICATING LAMPS Thomas M. Cosgrove, Bayside, N. Y. Application February 15, 1952, Serial No. 271,820 Claims. (Cl. 240-25) This invention relates to a device for shielding the conventional indicating lamp provided in private or municipal fire alarm systems to indicate the location of a nearby alarm box.

Conventionally, a fire alarm boX indicating lamp is either completely unshielded, or, if shielded, is covered by a glass globe. As a result, the lamp often becomes a target for missiles thrown by vandals, and this produces an undesirable situation, wherein the lamp is not only out of service for a period of time, but also must be replaced at the expense of the municipality or private facility in which the alarm box is installed. In a municipality of substantial size, the necessity of replacing the indicating lamps and protective globes is a continuing one, and involves an appreciable outlay of public funds.

It is important to note, in this connection, that a substantial majority of persons living in a particular municipality fail to acquaint themselves with the nearest fire alarm box location. As a result, if the indicator lamp at said location is out of service when a fire occurs, valuable time is lost in summoning available fire equipment, due to difficulty on the part of the person turning in the alarm in locating a fire alarm box. It is readily appreciated, in this regard, that the time element is of the utmost importance in such a situation, and the loss of even a few minutes can quite possibly have very serious consequences.

In view of the above, it is the main object of the present invention to provide a shield for an indicating lamp of the type stated which will be unbreakable and will protectively cover the indicating lamp in such a manner as to prevent completely the extinguishing of the lamp by thrown missiles or the like, thus to insure, first, that all the indicating lamps in a particular municipality will remain in service except, of course, when actually burned out; and, second, to reduce substantially the cost attendant upon the maintenance of the fire alarm system.

Another important object is to provide in a protective shield of the type stated an arrangement of reflective plates which will not only result in increasing the range of visibility of theindicating lamp for persons seeking a fire alarm box, but also will permit the indicating lamp to serve as a street light which can be used either for illuminating a location having no other light, or for augmenting the light cast by nearby street lamps.

A still further important object of the present invention is to provide a protective shield for indicating lamps which can be assembled at low cost and will comprise a minimum of parts.

Yet another important object is to provide a protective shield of the character described which can be mounted in conventional globe holders now in use, thus to permit substitution of the shield constituting the present inven tion for a conventional glass globe, without the necessity of modifying or redesigning the globe and lamp holders already in use.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed 2 drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of a protective shield formed accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a side elevational view; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken ure 2;

Figure 4 is an elevational view, on a reduced scale, illustrating the protective shield as it appears when in use;

Figure 5 is a perspective View of a modified form of the reflective plates.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the shield constituting the present invention includes a pair of reflective plates 10, 12. These plates are crossed along an axis which lies medially between the outermost edges of the plates, and, as seen from Figure l, the plates lit and 12 are perpendicularly related.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the plates 10 and 12 are generally circular in respect to the outer configuration thereof, but it should be noted at this point that this particular shape is not critical to successful operation.

As shown in Figure 4, the plates 10 and 12 can be colored, and preferably, when said plates are used in association with a clear indicating lamp L, they would be colored a bright orange. Said colors would, in the preferred commercial application of the invention, be applied by a porcelainizing process, or by some other process requiring no repainting or subsequent maintenance.

The plates 10 and 12 are of fiat construction, and are disposed in vertical planes, each of said plates having a recess opening downwardly from the upper edge thereof. The plate 12, as will be noted from Figure 3, is formed on line 33 of Figwith a deep recess having a straight bottom edge 13 and straight, vertical side edges 20. The side edges 29, in this connection, merge at their upper ends into the inner side edges of spaced, upstanding extensions 22 formed upon the upper end of the plate.

The plate 10 is provided with a similar recess, the recess of said plate 10 having a straight, horizontal, bottom edge 24 and vertical side edges 26 merging into the inner side edges of upstanding extensions 28.

The upstanding extensions 22 of the plate 12 are formed with inclined, upwardly converging, top edges 30, the extensions 28 being provided with inclined, upwardly converging, top edges 32.

I believe that various means can be employed to interfit the plates 10 and 12 in the desired crossing, perpendicular relationship thereof, and as an example of one means that can be used, I have illustrated an arrangement wherein the plate 12 is formed with a narrow slot 34 that is vertically disposed, and opens upon the bottom edge of the plate medially between the opposite sides of the plate. The slot 34, in this connection, terminates a substantial distance below the bottom edge 18 of the recess of the plate 12.

The plate 10, during its manufacture, is formed with a slot 36 which opens downwardly from the bottom edge 24 of the recess formed therein, the lower or closed end of the slot 36 terminating a substantial distance above the bottom edge of the plate.

By reason of this construction, the slots 34 and 36 will cooperate to receive the unslotted portions of the plates lit) and 12, respectively, thus to interfit the plates and permit them to be arranged normally to one another with the side walls of the recesses symmetrical with relation to the axis.

Supported upon the upstanding extensions 22, 28 is a collar 30 of right-angled, cross-sectional shape, said collar lying in concentric spaced relation to the axis, and having a depending flange extending downwardly into the respective recesses of the plates which contact the inner surfaces of said upstanding extensions. Integral with the upper edge of the depending flange of the collar is a horizontally disposed, outwardly extended flange supported in spaced relation to the inclined top edges 30, 32 of said extensions. The collar is fixedly secured, in any suitable manner, to the respective extensions, as by welding or the like. This permits the outwardly extended flange of the collar to be readily gripped by a conventional holder H (see Figure 4).

Prior to insertion of the collar 38 in the manner described above, a protective, cylindrically formed screen 49 is seated in the recesses of the plates and 12, the side wall of said screen engaging the side edges 20, 26, and the flat, bottom wall of said screen being supported upon the coplanar bottom edges 18, 24 of the recesses.

The protective screen 40 is formed of conventional Wire mesh in the preferred construction of the device, and is proportioned to such a length as to be engaged at its upper end by the bottom edge of the depending flange of the collar 38. As a result, when the collar 38 is fixedly secured in-its proper position, the protective screen will be securely retained in place, and will be held not only against accidental removal from the position illustrated in the drawings, but also against lateral deviation relative to the plates 10 and 12 associated therewith.

Preferably, the protective screen 40 is proportioned to a diameter somewhat greater than the diameter of the indicating lamp L, since in some instances said indicating lamps are oil center relative to a holder H in which the lamp might be mounted.

In Figure 4 l have illustrated a conventional lamp and globe holder H depending from an arm provided upon a service post of conventional formation.

This, of course, is merely one indication of a mounting for the device constituting the present invention, and it will be appreciated that alternatively the device can be mounted upon a special arm extending from a street lamp post in spaced relation to the larger arm that supports the street lamp itself. Further, the device constituting the present invention can either depend from an arm on which it is mounted, or can extend upwardly therefrom, as desired. in Figure 4, the showing is intended to be illustrative of a mounting wherein the indicating device constitutes a street lamp in and of itself, so as to serve not only as an indicating means for a fire alarm box disposed therebelow, but also as an illuminating means for the nearby area.

It is believed apparent that the lamp L, when shielded by the illustrated device, will be visible from any angle or direction, and in fact, the range of visibility thereof would, it is believed, be increased substantially by the use of the colored reflecting plates over that which obtains when conventional colored globes are used.

Further, it is thought to be of importance that the device is so designed as to permit its substitution for a conventional glass globe without the necessity of modifying or replacing the ordinary globe-engaging holder H.

In Figure 5, a modified construction is shown, which might well be considered the preferred embodiment of the invention. In this instance one plate has been designated 42 and except for not having a slot 34, is like plate 12, h. ving a recess 44 analogous to the screen-receiving recess of plate 12, and upstanding extensions 46 corresponding to the extensions 22.

The other plate has been generally designated 48, and comprises coplanar plate sections 50, 52. The section 50 is cut away angularly, as at 54, the section 52 being similarly cut away, as at 56, so that the cut away portions define a. recess generally designated 58, having vertical side edges merging into extensions 60.

The section 50 is formed along its inner edge with a laterally extended, vertical flange member 62, the section 52 having a similar flange member 64. Said members are formed with vertically spaced openings registering with one another and with a vertical series of openings formed in the plate 42 below its recess 44. Bolts 66 or equivalent A, fastening elements extend through the registering openings to secure the plates 42 and 4-3 fixedly to one another.

A screen 40 and collar 38 would, of course, be assembled With the plates 42 and 48 to complete the assembly of the form of the invention shown in Figure 5.

Still further, it is considered to be an important characteristic of the invention that the device is unbreakable, requiring a substantially lower amount of maintenance than the indicating lamp shields now in use, while at the same time eliminating or measurably reducing periods during which the indicating lamp is out of service.

It is believed clear that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor changes in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A shield attachment for an annular holder of an incandescent lamp, comprising: a plurality of flat plates connected in crossing relationship and formed with lampreceiving recesses opening upon one end of the plates; an annular collar fixed to the several plates in the open ends of the recesses; and a tubular screen seated in said recesses and engaged at its ends against movement in the direction of its length in opposite directions by the collar and the inner end edges of the recesses, respectively, said collar including means extending exteriorly of the recesses and spaced from said ends of the plates to define between said plate ends and said means spaces under which the holder is extendable.

2. A shield attachment for an annular holder of an incandescent lamp, comprising: a plurality of fiat plates connected in crossing relationship and formed with lampreceiving recesses opening upon one end of the plates; an annular collar fixed to the several plates in the open ends of the recesses; and a tubular screen seated in said recesses and engaged at its ends against movement in the direction of its length in opposite directions by the collar and the inner end edges of the recesses, respectively, said collar including means extending exteriorly of the recesses and spaced from said ends of the plates to define between said plate ends and said means spaces under which the holder is extendable, said screen being of cylindrical shape and having a diameter equal to that of the collar, one end of the screen being abutted throughout its circumference against the collar.

3. A shield attachment for an annular holder of an incandescent lamp, comprising: a plurality of flat plates connected in crossing relationship and formed with lampreceiving recesses opening upon one end of the plates; an annular collar fixed to the several plates in the open ends of the recesses; and a tubular screen seated in said recesses and engaged at its ends against movement in the direction of its length in opposite directions by the collar and the inner end edges of the recesses, respectively, said collar including means extending exteriorly of the recesses and spaced from said ends of the plates to define between said plate ends and said means spaces under which the holder is extendable, said screen being of cylindrical shape and having a diameter equal to that of the collar, one end of the screen being abutted throughout its circumference against the collar, the end edges of the recesses extending diametrically of the other end of the screen to engage thereagainst at locations spaced circumferentially of the screen.

4. A shield attachment for an annular holder of an incandescent lamp, comprising: a plurality of fiat plates connected in crossing relationship and formed with lampreceiving recesses opening upon one end of the plates; an annular collar fixed to the several plates in the open ends of the recesses; and a tubular screen seated in said recesses and engaged at its ends against movement in the direction of its length in opposite directions by the collar direction of its length in opposite directions by the collar and the inner end edges of the recesses, respectively, said and t e inner end edges of the recesses, respectively, said collar including means extending exteriorly of the recesses collar including means extending enteriorly of the recesses and spaced from said ends of the plates to define between holder is extendable, said screen being of cylindrical shape with extensions sald means of the collar being formed and having a d1ameter equal to that of the collar one as a planlform flange and said extensions having end end of the screen being abutted throughout its circumedges angular to the plane of the flange to define said ference against the collar, the end edges of the recesses 10 holder-receiving spaces therebetween.

engage thereagainst at locations spaced circumferentially References Cited in the file Of this Patent of the screen, the screen being in engagement over its full length with the side edges of the recesses. UNITED STATES PATENTS 5. A shield attachment for an annular holder of an 15 1,001,649 Kingsley Aug. 29, 1911 incandescent lamp, comprising: a plurality of flat plates 1,305,696 Dawes June 3, 1919 connected in crossing relationship and formed with lamp- 1,333,569 Papemaier Mar. 9, 1920 receiving recesses opening upon one end of the plates; 1,379,182 Hammond May 24, 1921 an annular collar fixed to the several plates in the open 1,514,616 Harrison Nov. 11, I924 ends of the recesses; and atubular screen seated in said 20 1,695,307 Wilson Dec. 18, 1928 recesses and engaged at its ends against movement in the 1,780,046 Stewart, Ir Oct. 28, 1930 

